"The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it." ― V.S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Shooting the Messenger?

Julian Assange does a
Chen Guangcheng in London

By Zafar Anjum

Remember the blind Chinese human rights advocate Chen
Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest on 22 April and sought sanctuary in
the US embassy?
Later on, the Chinese government gave him a safe passage to the US
where he now lives and studies.

That was one month ago.

I was reminded of this incident when I learned about
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange skipping bail en route from a court in London
on Tuesday (19 June) and taking asylum in the embassy of Ecuador.

He has reportedly applied for asylum in that country.
Interestingly, he had recently interviewed the President of Ecuador on his TV
show for Russia TV. “Cheer up. Welcome to the club of the persecuted,” the Ecuador's
leftist President Rafael Correa told Assange at the end of the interview.

In the same week that Chen escaped from house arrest in China,
Julian Assange lost his court appeal against being extradited to Sweden
for questioning about allegations of sexual offences.

Assange’s latest step is quite dramatic. It has caused a
stir in diplomatic circles and freedom watchers are keenly following the
developments.

Assange’s fear is that once he reaches Sweden,
he will be deported to the US
where he could face death penalty on charges of espionage. The US
government has already issued a statement that they have no role to play in
Assange’s case.

Meanwhile, Australia
(of which Assange is a citizen) said that the country had made representations
to the Swedish government on behalf of Assange. The country’s Foreign Minister
Senator Carr said that ‘Australia
could not fight his case for him on the sexual assault or anything else in
another jurisdiction, nor could it for any other Australian’.

Looming arrest

It has been reported that President Correa has been
impressed with Assange’s letter of appeal. AP reported that Julian Assange
wants to continue his WikiLeaks work in Ecuador,
according to a letter he sent to the country's president.

According to the report, President Rafael Correa said the
country would take its time making a decision "because this is a very
serious matter". Another report said that a swift decision is expected
from his side (maybe within 24 hours).

But legal experts believe that even if Assange gets the
asylum, he could be arrested on his way to the airport (to take a plane to Ecuador)
for breaching bail.

There are other opinions too. This is what the Sydney
Morning Herald (AAP) had to say:
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s bold bid for asylum in Ecuador
may well pay off, an Australian expert believes.

Australian National
University international law expert
Donald Rothwell says the bid could work, said the report. “He’s made a
calculated judgment that on the basis of his interactions with the Ecuadorian
government that he's fairly confident he will be granted asylum by this
particular country,” Professor Rothwell told AAP.

“But ultimately whether Ecuador
grants him asylum is a political judgment based on whatever arguments or
evidence Mr Assange is able to put to support his case.”

‘Ecuadorian asylum would put him beyond the reach of Sweden
and possibly also the US,
Prof Rothwell says. Ecuador
has an extradition treaty with the US,
but it excludes those wanted on political charges.’

It remains to be seen how the drama will now unfold. Will Ecuador
provide asylum to Assange? Even if he gets it, will the UK
government give him a safe passage to the airport?

Given Assange’s astuteness and resourcefulness, even that is
not far-fetched for him. His story might well be one of the greatest escapes of
this century.

Though Assange’s critics say that he should not have jumped
bail and should have faced the questioning by the Swedish government, his mother
says that her son‘was left with no option
but to seek political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London’.

It would be interesting what Chen would have to say to
Assange on this matter as ironically, the same land of freedom that Chen has
chosen to escape to, is interested in getting hold of Assange and making him
pay for the crime of exposing the greatest power on earth.